ABOUT

ABOUT YOUR TOUR GUIDE

TANYA LYN MARCH

Former Northwest Portlander Tanya Lyn March received her doctoral degree in Urban Studies from Portland State University in 2010, focusing on historic preservation and community development. She has a master's degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and is raising two young boys one who attend Metropolitan Learning Center in Northwest Portland and the other son is a Freshman at Jefferson High School. She is currently working on a book about home front experiences of children who lived in the Guild's Lake Courts war housing in Northwest Portland during World War II. In addition to being a frequent contributer to the NW Examiner and an active blogger she can be found skating at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink.

THE HISTORY OF SLABTOWN TOURS

Northwest Portland Champion

MIKE RYERSON 1940-2015

Mike Ryerson was born in Northwest Portland in 1940, a fourth-generation resident of the neighborhood. While his best known claim to public fame may be the famous “Expose Yourself to Art” poster that depicted soon-to-be Mayor Bud Clark doing just that, Mike’s lasting legacy is our deeper understanding of the buildings and the character of Northwest Portland that he championed for decades. In 2012 Tanya Lyn March PhD joined forced to run a two person walking tour company Mike's History Tours.

Mike was a noted advocate, historian, writer, baseball fan, tavern owner, photographer and a newspaper reporter. Mike was a public character and a local lecturer who freely shared his detailed historical knowledge of this neighborhood usually illustrated by examples from his nearly 100,000 Portland images. Mike compelled old and new residents alike to do more to save the old homes and the historic places of Portland.